auticon was founded in Berlin in 2011 by a father wanting better employment opportunities for his autistic son. Autistic professionals were employed as quality assurance consultants, debugging Websites and applications. As Managing Director of a small investment firm, Kurt Schöffer was approached by Ananda Social Venture Fund, who invited him to partner in creating Germany’s first social impact fund. The fund’s first investment was in auticon, where Kurt served as an advisor on the fund’s behalf. For Kurt, this was an opportunity to apply his business acumen to solve the social issue of rising unemployment among autistic adults, who often possess STEM skills applicable in a range of technology careers. After three months as an advisor, Kurt accepted a role as auticon’s Group CEO, later developing its 6 German office locations and expanding into Paris and London. The company added major clients such as BMW and Allianz, and new technology consulting services.
In 2016, Sir Richard Branson’s investment brought international attention to the company as it expanded into Italy and Switzerland. In 2018 auticon acquired two North American autism employers: MindSpark in Los Angeles and Meticulon in Calgary, later adding clients such as Salesforce and Deloitte and surpassing 200+ autistic employees globally. In 2019, auticon opened in Australia with one of the island’s largest employers.
In 2023, auticon and Unicus entered an agreement under which the two companies would unite. The historic deal established a global model for an autistic-majority social enterprise and ESG company, addressing the inequalities in employment for neurodivergent adults. The two combined companies became the largest autistic-majority company in the world, with 81% of its 600 employees on the autism spectrum across 15 countries.
Thank you for your interest in covering auticon. I look forward to speaking with you.
Jon Sweet
Email: Jon.Sweet (at) auticon.com
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Current Timezone: Australian Eastern Daylight
Language spoken: English
2021 Global Impact Report (Published 2022)
2021 Global Impact Report (Languages: Italian, Â English, and German)
2021 Global Impact Report (Languages: French, English, German)
2020 Global Impact Report (Languages: French, English, German)
A new report by Deloitte Canada and auticon Canada finds employment barriers, lack of workplace support for Canada’s autistic community. The joint report surveyed 454 adults across the country.
2022 auticon + Deloitte Report, “Embracing Neurodiversity at Work” (English)
